Using Bernzomatic Oxygen Cylinders for Oxygenating Wort

[Brooothru]

I remember back in the day (55 years ago; my Gawd time "flies") when a student pilot soloed, his instructor would "cut the student's tailfeathers" by taking a pair of scissors to the tail of whatever shirt they were wearing. The more pelts on the wall, the more experienced the instructor.

When I started Navy pilot training, there would be a weekly Happy Hour on Friday afternoon where the student's primary instructor did a "cutting of the tie" for each student who had soloed that week. The instructor would slice the student's neck tie with a large Bowie knife, the student would then exchange that severed cloth for a bottle of the instructor's favorite libation.

The ceremony incorporated steeped tradition with copious amounts of alcoholic beverages and sharp objects. What could possibly go wrong?

Brooo Brother

 

[Brooothru]

I remember back in the day (55 years ago; my Gawd time "flies") when a student pilot soloed, his instructor would "cut the student's tailfeathers" by taking a pair of scissors to the tail of whatever shirt they were wearing. The more pelts on the wall, the more experienced the instructor.

When I started Navy pilot training, there would be a weekly Happy Hour on Friday afternoon where the student's primary instructor did a "cutting of the tie" for each student who had soloed that week. The instructor would slice the student's neck tie with a large Bowie knife, the student would then exchange that severed cloth for a bottle of the instructor's favorite libation.

The ceremony incorporated steeped tradition with copious amounts of alcoholic beverages and sharp objects. What could possibly go wrong?

Brooo Brother

Sorry for the thread drift. Aviation oxygen was also involved.

Fixed it.

 

[BAF]

Just stumbled on this thread, but I had discussions about this with my local gas supplier, and they said their bulk CO2 is fine for brewing use and is what they supply to area breweries.

They also said they typically recommend aviator grade oxygen for food use, but that there's no difference in the oxygen that goes into the tank in either case. As I was told, the difference is that aviator grade oxygen goes into tanks with a chain of custody and the industrial tanks may end up with fouled valves/fittings from whoever used it (and thus they recommend aviator grade to avoid issues arising from that). After more discussion, their reccomendation was that I source a brand new 20 cf cylinder and have them fill it (rather than swap it). So that's what I did.

My supplier is a medium-sized local company though, not one of the big conglomerates like Airgas, so I'm not sure if they operate differently or are just trying to upcharge folks. My place is well aware that I use the gas for brewing and have never raised any sort of issue like what OP described at airgas.

 

[Richard Van Eck]

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ac00195a005

Here's a link to the impurities found in typical high purity oxygen. It follows that the same impurities should exist in higher proportions in welding grade oxygen. Oxygen is seperated from the air using cryogenic distillation or vacuums. So it can be high in impurities meaning that a higher proportion of the gasses present in air are still there (nitrogen and argon) specifically. Medical grade oxygen is seperated using electrolysis with a platinum catylist and is very pure.

One thing to remember is that the word "purity" has been coopted by the advertising industry as a term that means it's healthy. So impurity must therefore be bad for you.

Just because there's impurities in a gas doesn't mean they are harmful, and since this gas came from the air originally, it's reasonable that the impurities are simply gasses leftover from air.

Your airgas guy was selling something, and you should be suspicious that his "concern" for your health would result in you buying the much more expensive medical grade oxygen.

I occasionally work with high purity gasses in an industrial capacity and we are required to have certified gasses with five-nines, meaning certified by NIST to be 99.999% free of impurities. Anyone who tells you there is no difference in gas grades is an idiot. I have been told that by multiple CO2 vendors.

Yes CO2 is CO2 and oxygen is oxygen and the source doesn't matter, however what's in your tank is only 99.something% CO2 or oxygen. 0.1% impurities can result in off flavors such as oxidation from force carbonating with CO2 containing an oxygen impurity.

Luckily the common impurities in oxygen are inert and I still have no problem using my bernzomatic tank.

I don't know why you're getting so many snarky replies for a seemingly perfectly reasonable question.

Thank you for the reasonable and helpful response. I agree that the number of snarky replies is perplexing--this is a more than reasonable question. The poster who thought the question was "virtue signalling" seems to have a real chip on his shoulder and seems to be guilty himself of the charge he has leveled. Great info--thanks!